What the Rings of Power are
In Tolkien’s Middle-earth, the Rings of Power are the twenty Great Rings made in the Second Age. Nineteen were forged by the Elven-smiths of Eregion, led by Celebrimbor, using knowledge from Sauron, who came to them in disguise as Annatar, the “Lord of Gifts”. Sauron helped make most of them. The twentieth, the One Ring, he forged alone and in secret in the fires of Mount Doom, to rule all the others [1].
The rings are summed up in the verse that opens The Lord of the Rings: three rings for the Elven-kings, seven for the Dwarf-lords, nine for mortal Men and one for the Dark Lord, “One Ring to rule them all” [1]. Before the Great Rings, the smiths also made lesser rings as practice pieces, which Gandalf later calls “only essays in the craft” [1].
The infographic by Madison Apple on this page sets out the four groups side by side, based on The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and Tolkien’s letters.
Who made the rings and why
Around S.A. 1200, Sauron began trying to win over the Elves. He failed with Gil-galad and Elrond, but the smiths of Eregion (the Gwaith-i-Mírdain) listened. They wanted to make Middle-earth as beautiful and unchanging as Valinor, and Annatar offered them the craft to do it [1].
That is why the main power of all the rings was to slow decay and change, and to increase the natural powers of the wearer [1]. The smiths made the sixteen rings later given to Dwarves and Men around S.A. 1500. Celebrimbor then made the Three by himself, without Sauron, finishing them around S.A. 1590. Around S.A. 1600 Sauron forged the One Ring and put a great part of his own power into it. When he put it on, the Elves sensed him, realised they had been betrayed and took off their rings [1].
The One, the Nine, the Seven and the Three
| Rings | Made by | Main bearers | What happened to them |
|---|---|---|---|
| The One Ring | Sauron alone, in Mount Doom, about S.A. 1600 | Sauron, Isildur, Déagol, Gollum, Bilbo, Frodo (and briefly Sam) | Destroyed in the Cracks of Doom in T.A. 3019 |
| The Nine | The smiths of Eregion with Sauron’s help, about S.A. 1500 | Nine mortal Men, three of them great lords of Númenor | The bearers became the Nazgûl; Sauron held the rings himself |
| The Seven | The smiths of Eregion with Sauron’s help, about S.A. 1500 | The Dwarf-kings | Four consumed by dragons; Sauron recovered three |
| The Three | Celebrimbor alone, about S.A. 1590 | Gil-galad, Círdan and Galadriel, later Elrond and Gandalf | Lost their power when the One was destroyed; taken over the sea in T.A. 3021 |
Sources for the table: Tolkien Gateway’s articles on the Rings of Power, the One Ring and the Three Rings, which cite Tolkien’s texts [1][2][3]. Two details are often simplified, including on the infographic: Celebrimbor didn’t make the Nine and the Seven on his own, as Sauron worked on them with the smiths, and the One Ring’s bearers include Déagol, who found it before Gollum, and Sam, who carried it for a day [1][2].
The One Ring
The One was a plain gold ring with no stone. Its inscription in the Black Speech only showed when it was heated. It let Sauron control the sixteen rings of Dwarves and Men and see into the minds of their wearers, though his hold over them was never complete. Because so much of Sauron’s power went into it, destroying the Ring meant destroying him [1][2]. For anyone else who wore it, it gave invisibility and long life but slowly took over the bearer’s mind.
The Nine Rings of Men
Sauron gave the Nine to Men who wanted power. They became “kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old”, lived for centuries and could become invisible, but over time they faded into wraiths entirely under Sauron’s will: the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths. They first appeared around S.A. 2251. Their chief was the Witch-king of Angmar, and the only other one Tolkien names is Khamûl, the Black Easterling [4].
The Seven Rings of the Dwarves
Sauron couldn’t turn the Dwarves into wraiths, because they were too hard to dominate. Instead the rings fed their greed: they helped them build great hoards of treasure, and the wrath and greed that came with them brought ruin on their kingdoms. Four of the Seven were destroyed by dragons, and Sauron took back the others. The last was taken from Thráin II in the dungeons of Dol Guldur in T.A. 2845 [5]. By Dwarvish tradition, the ring of Durin’s Folk was given to Durin III by the Elven-smiths rather than by Sauron [5].
The Three Rings of the Elves
The Three were the most powerful of the Great Rings after the One. Each is named after an element: Narya, the Ring of Fire, set with a ruby; Nenya, the Ring of Water, made of mithril with a white stone of adamant; and Vilya, the Ring of Air, gold set with a sapphire. Celebrimbor gave them to Gil-galad, Círdan and Galadriel. Gil-galad later passed Vilya to Elrond, and Círdan gave Narya to Gandalf [3]. Sauron never touched the Three, but because they were made with the craft he taught, they were still bound to the One. They were used to preserve and protect, in Rivendell and Lothlórien, rather than to rule [3].
Timeline of the Rings of Power
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| About S.A. 1200 | Sauron, as Annatar, begins to win over the smiths of Eregion [1] |
| About S.A. 1500 | The sixteen rings for Dwarves and Men are made [1] |
| About S.A. 1590 | Celebrimbor completes the Three [1] |
| About S.A. 1600 | Sauron forges the One Ring in Mount Doom [1][2] |
| S.A. 1693 to 1700 | War of the Elves and Sauron. Eregion is destroyed and Sauron takes the Nine and the Seven [1][6] |
| About S.A. 2251 | The Nazgûl first appear [4] |
| S.A. 3441 | The Last Alliance defeats Sauron and Isildur takes the One Ring, ending the Second Age [2][6] |
| T.A. 2 | Isildur is killed at the Gladden Fields and the Ring is lost in the Anduin [2] |
| About T.A. 2463 | Déagol finds the Ring and Sméagol (Gollum) murders him for it [2] |
| T.A. 2845 | Sauron takes the last of the Seven from Thráin II [5] |
| T.A. 2941 | Bilbo finds the Ring in Gollum’s cave [2] |
| T.A. 3001 | Bilbo leaves the Ring to Frodo [2] |
| 25 March, T.A. 3019 | The One Ring is destroyed at Mount Doom [2] |
| T.A. 3021 | The bearers of the Three sail into the West, ending the Third Age [3] |
From its forging around S.A. 1600 to its destruction in T.A. 3019, the One Ring existed for about 4,860 years: 1,841 years to the end of the Second Age, plus 3,019 years of the Third Age.
What happened to the rings in the end
When the One Ring was destroyed, the rings that depended on it were freed from Sauron but seem to have lost their power. The Nine, which Sauron kept, were presumably lost with the ruins of Barad-dûr. The Three lost their power to preserve, which is why Lothlórien began to fade, and they left Middle-earth with Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf at the end of the Third Age [1][3]. Nothing more is known of the lesser rings.
The books and the TV series
Amazon’s series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age and covers the forging of the rings. Its makers have rights to The Lord of the Rings with its appendices and The Hobbit, but not to The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales, which hold most of what Tolkien wrote about this period. So the series fills in a lot itself, and its order of events and characters don’t always match the books [7]. Everything on this page follows Tolkien’s own writing.
Questions about the Rings of Power in Middle-earth
Who forged the Rings of Power?
The Elven-smiths of Eregion under Celebrimbor, with Sauron’s help for the Nine and the Seven. Celebrimbor made the Three alone, and Sauron made the One Ring alone [1].
How many Rings of Power are there?
Twenty Great Rings: three for the Elves, seven for the Dwarves, nine for Men and the One Ring. There were also lesser rings made while the smiths were learning the craft [1].
What happened to the rest of the rings?
Four of the Seven were destroyed by dragons and Sauron took back the other three. He also held the Nine. After the One Ring was destroyed, those rings seem to have lost their power and were never seen again. The Three left Middle-earth in T.A. 3021 [1][3][5].
Is the Rings of Power series based on The Silmarillion?
No. Amazon has the rights to The Lord of the Rings, its appendices and The Hobbit, but not The Silmarillion, so the series is built mainly on the Second Age history in the appendices [7].
Who wore the One Ring?
Sauron, Isildur, Déagol, Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo, with Sam carrying it briefly in Mordor. Tom Bombadil and Gandalf each held it for a moment [2].
Sources
- Tolkien Gateway, Rings of Power.
- Tolkien Gateway, The One Ring.
- Tolkien Gateway, Three Rings.
- Tolkien Gateway, Nazgûl.
- Tolkien Gateway, Seven Rings.
- Tolkien Gateway, Second Age.
- Tolkien Gateway, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Last reviewed 6 November 2026
